Emergence. It’s interesting that there’s only a one letter difference from emergency.

Waxing lyrical about spring, emergence invites images of sprouts popping out of the ground–a far cry from flashing red lights and wailing sirens. In terms of The Natural Professional, I feel the fire rapidly approaching.

On the one hand, The NP is a way of working that sounds appealing and productive. (This doesn’t sound very life-threatening, does it?)

On the other hand, it’s a means to change the world on our most personal cellular level because it affects our response in any given situation. And if there is one thing we need to do, it’s do things differently than we have in the past. Part of me wants to yell from the roof tops, “This is how we become the future we most desire!” It’s that important.

That said, The Natural Professional represents a set of tools, it’s not the end game itself. You, living on purpose, with passion, and in peace… that is the ultimate goal. That’s what I want to help you remember again and again, until reminders are no longer needed.

Whew, that got serious! Someone give that girl a glass of wine! On a lighter note, I hope blossoms are sprouting willy-nilly wherever you are. I hope they are inspiring you to silly giddiness and stopping you in your tracks to marvel at their unfolding petals. May they inspire full-body smiles that radiate joy in all directions. Life is meant to be loved!

Let it be easy,

Shawn Tuttle
Chief Simplifier, Project Simplify

“Spring makes its own statement, so loud and clear that the gardener seems to be only one of the instruments, not the composer.”

- Geoffrey B. Charlesworth

Here are Shawn’s hand-picked selections from the Project Simplify blog:

The 30-Second Elevator Speech, Realized at Last!

If you’ve never crafted a 30-second elevator speech you may not appreciate the challenging process the self-employed go through to create one.<…>Coming up with this short intro can be something akin to pushing a large ball of burning tar up a big hill, penalty of death. And you think I’m exaggerating. Well maybe I am just a little. (more)

Re-routing frustration
”Got frustrated this morning because of email. It appears that my emails to a particular person, which I thought were really quite clear, were actually written in a lost language. In other words, she responded as if she didn’t understand them. Two of ‘em.” (more)

The Horse Whisperer?
What do horses and Natural Professionals have in common?
A. They both like carrots.
B. They both like to roll in the grass to scratch their back.
C. They both like harmony in teeth cleaning appointments.

Answer: As if! You’ll have to read the article to find out! Here’s the column that was printed in last month’s Nevada City Advocate called ‘Simplify: Horse whisperer shows there’s another way’, now posted on their website.

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Photo credit:
Elevators
by Penningtron

A disgruntled giraffe appears to poke his head out of the frame, but in fact doesn’t. Grows more frustrated with zoo life. by benoutram

This section provides an update on the Natural Professional, a Project Simplify adventure.
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We’re all about the upcoming workshop: 6 Steps to a Life of Purpose, Passion & Peace around here.

Jim Phelps mostly came up with the course title. He also wrote up a great description of the course.

He writes things like:
“Do you want to be fueled by inspiring, energizing passion?
Live your purpose every day?
Emerge into a centered place of peace?
Have the kind of life you’d want your children and grandchildren to live?
That’s the Natural Professional way. And it can be your way, too.”
I can’t help but think, “Hey, I’d sign up for that!”

Our now famous stick chick made it onto the flier. I don’t want to pop the whole image into the newsletter here, though if you click on the thumbnail, it’ll pop up to a size that’s easy to see.

Finally, as mentioned in the blog post in the above Project Simplify Says So, the oh-so-apt course title has morphed into my new elevator speech! Gotta love it when that happens spontaneously. Thanks for the inspiration, Jim!

Next issue: The Natural Professional meets Mission:Possible!

OK class, I hope you brought your extra-big mixing spoons, because we’re in for a real treat today. I’m going to share a secret recipe that’s been in my family for over 15 years – a little dish called the World’s Largest To-Do List. Cook this baby up right, and it will fill you up for many years to come—as many years as you’ve got, in fact.

To get started, of course you’ll want to wipe down your surfaces and wash your hands…

…then take one youngster—male or female, doesn’t matter—and add equal parts intelligence, creativity, and determination. Then throw a couple thousand books down its gullet, and several thousand hours of TV. Really fatten up that brain; just pour anything you can into it. Feel free to get creative.

Then you’ll want to batter him or her up with a sense of accomplishment and invincibility. There are a lot of ways to do that, what I like is to baste “you’re in the 99th percentile” onto the youngster for several years, but you can also get them to win awards or other recognition, or train them to excel at things, or take leadership positions, etc.. Whatever you use, just coat it on real good. This is the structure that will hold up the rest of the meal. This is also when you’ll want to instill a good work ethic. Instill it over medium heat for about 10 years, stirring frequently.

We’re almost ready to start adding our to-do items. You don’t want to add them too early, or you might end up with a mono-focused “prodigy” in one thing or the other. Those are nice too, but that’s not what we’re cooking up here. …

Finish reading “A Tasty Treat (That Will Consume Your Life)”